Beauty and the Bucs

*Originally printed in The Dickinsonian

Call it what you want. Optimistic? Certainly. Naïve? Probably. Yet I believe this could be the year the Pittsburgh Pirates finally go .500. It’s been 18 long, trying seasons since the Bucs were last able to perform the daunting task of winning as many games as they lose. They have become something of a laughingstock throughout the sports world and, according to analysts across the country, their losing won’t be ending anytime soon. Despite the negativity, I know this could be the Pirates’ year. And, frankly, I don’t think I’m alone.

Small pockets of snow and ice still dot Morgan Field, but there is no doubt about it: spring is not too far away. And while the temperature rises and those pockets slowly dissolve, I am left thinking about one thing: the imminent arrival of the 2011 season of Major League Baseball. Pitchers and catchers officially reported to their respective ballclub’s spring camp earlier this week, and although no meaningful pitches have been thrown and no swings have been taken, that annual optimism abounds for all 30 teams and their fans, Pittsburgh Pirates included.

Despite the best efforts of the Baseball Tonight crew and their preseason predictions, nothing can crush the hopes of the fans of the annual division bottom dwellers. No sabermetrics or Vegas odds makers can derail the enthusiasm that surrounds each team. And that’s what makes baseball so special. As the sights of snow and ice on the ground begin to disappear, so, too, do the painful memories of last season. The Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves saw their 2010 campaigns end in heartbreak, but hopefully they finished their grieving over the last couple months, because now none of that matters. The Chicago Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908, but who’s to say those pitchers and catchers that just reported to camp didn’t bring with them the tools and talent to make this the season that breaks the curse? For these next few weeks, avid followers of the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians have every right to talk up their team because, for the moment, those ballclubs are undefeated. As winter winds down, each team can look ahead to this season and know that they alone control their own destiny, that the division is in fact theirs to lose. Maybe Punxsutawney Phil really did see his shadow this year, but wanted an early spring simply because the man’s a baseball fan and couldn’t contain his excitement any longer.

It’s a long season, however, for every team, and it takes more than just optimism and enthusiasm to get past the 162 obstacles they will face. But the great thing about America’s Pastime is that it doesn’t matter if you are the defending champion or have not been a winning team in 18 years, you still have to get past the same number of obstacles. Every slate has been wiped clean, and no matter the number of superstars on each roster or the past championships each team has to be proud of, every club still starts out at 0-0.

So as spring training gets under way and Opening Day comes closer and closer, that familiar sense of excitement and optimism arrives on cue. Yes, it’s the same sense of anticipation I’ve felt the past 18, painful years. But the fact that I still get this feeling each and every season? Now that’s the beauty of baseball.